It's Time for Kansas to Get Serious About Wind Power

Demand Governor Sebelius Use Her Leadership and Do What's Right!

It's time to get MAD and not take it any more. Make the wording your own. With global warming, damaging coal pollution, and an end to oil in sight, we must demand responsible leadership!

Below is a sample letter. To download this as a Word Doc, Right Click and Save Target As This Link.

Governor Kathleen Sebelius
Office of the Governor
Capitol Bldg., 2nd Floor
Topeka, KS 66612

Dear Governor Sebelius:

I am writing to express concern about the lack of leadership in promoting wind energy in Kansas. As you know, rising emissions of greenhouse gases from the combustion of fossil fuels are causing global warming. Dwindling natural gas resources in western Kansas have made us a net importer of fossil fuels. As a nation, we are running out of oil. For both environmental and economic reasons, development of our wind industry is absolutely essential to the well-being of our state and nation. We must stop future development of Kansas coal plants until a SERIOUS plan to develop Wind Power potential has been implemented.

Despite having the third largest wind resources of any state, Kansas has developed only a small wind industry compared to neighboring states. Meanwhile utilities such as Sunflower Electric Power and BPU (Board of Public Utilities in KCK) plan to build huge new plants using coal railed down from Wyoming. These polluting coal plants will crowd out production from wind, a clean, renewable resource in great abundance IN KANSAS. Kansas landowners are missing out on the opportunity to generate income from leasing property to wind plants. Moreover, not only will coal plants pollute our air with mercury, acid rain producing sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides, but also produce large amounts of carbon dioxide.

When you add in the costs of the damage done by coal plants to our environment and the healthcare costs directly attributed to coal plant pollution, it's not even close: the electricity from coal plants with those costs added in is more than double the costs of wind power.

Many states, such as Iowa, have Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) requiring that regulated utilities generate clean power from renewable resources to offset pollution from fossil fuel based plants. It is essential to pass RPS legislation that has been languishing in the legislature for several years. In addition, a crash program to build the new transmission lines needed to bring clean power to eastern Kansas and beyond is critical.

Leadership on the clean, alternative sources of energy issue is desperately needed from your office and the legislature. We must immediately wean ourselves from dwindling oil resources and polluting coal. We must begin solving our energy issues with Wind Power, right here in Kansas.

There is no more important issues facing the citizens of Kansas, the Nation, or the Planet.

Sincerely yours,

YOUR NAME
YOUR ADDRESS

Cc. Representative YOUR REPRESENTIVE, State House, 300 SW 10th Avenue, Topeka, KS 66612;

Senator YOUR SENATOR, State House, 300 SW 10th Avenue, Topeka, KS 66612.